Social equity in municipally owned corporations: Do women in the boardroom make a difference to the gender pay gap?

Andrews, Rhys ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1904-9819 2025. Social equity in municipally owned corporations: Do women in the boardroom make a difference to the gender pay gap? Public Administration 103 (4) , pp. 979-991. 10.1111/padm.13045

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Abstract

Representative bureaucracy theory posits that the presence of less‐advantaged social groups in public leadership positions is an important driver of social equity among the recipients of public services and the public servants who provide them. To evaluate whether active representation can lead to improvements in social equity within arms‐length public service organizations, this article presents an analysis of the relationship between women in the boardroom and the gender pay gap in 102 large municipally owned corporations (MOCs) in England for a 6‐year period (2017–2022). The findings suggest that MOCs led by female chief executive officers (CEOs) have a lower pay gap between male and female employees. The presence of more women directors on MOC boards is also negatively related to the pay gap, especially in MOCs led by male CEOs. The findings highlight the importance of board gender representation to address social equity in arms‐length public service organizations.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Schools > Business (Including Economics)
Additional Information:	License information from Publisher: LICENSE 1: URL: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Publisher:	Wiley
ISSN:	0033-3298
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	28 October 2024
Date of Acceptance:	14 October 2024
Last Modified:	08 Jan 2026 15:27
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/173427

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